I like variety. Sure, sometimes during the week I can get on a kick and eat the same thing every night for dinner (hellooo, lima beans, I’m lookin’ at you), but I also really appreciate mixing it up every now and then.

That’s why a few months ago when I decided I wanted some breakfast cereal, I went to the store and bought about 8 different boxes of the stuff. Each morning needed to have its own flavor — as long as the nutrition facts were acceptable. What? Don’t look at me like that. Sure, I may be the same girl who posted the Coffee Cookie Dough Fudge Cheesecake, but I do try to eat reasonably during the week!

The store-bought cereal was okay. At least, I thought it was okay at the time. But then something happened — I had one of those thunderous BIG IDEAS.

It all started when I was perusing one of my favorite blogs, Not So Humble Pie, and saw her (you’re not going to believe it) S’mores Candy Bar. I know. Insane.

The premise of her post was that she didn’t understand the excitement over this new company that makes customizable candy bars, since it’s so easy to make them at home. Having been excited about the customizable candy bar company, I felt admonished. And inspired.

Because even more than I had been excited about customizable candy bars, I was excited about customizable cereal. There’s this company on the web (I won’t link to them, since I’m about to tell you it’s silly to pay for their product) that allows you to choose all the ingredients you want in your own personal box of cereal — and even lets you pick a name for your new creation! Too fun!

BUT. I realized when I read Mrs. Humble’s candy bar post that it didn’t make any sense to pay for one kind of customized cereal (that was just like going to the grocery store), or even for eight kinds of customized cereal . . . what would really make sense is to make your own fully customizable cereal buffet — one that would allow you to have a different flavor every day if you wanted to!

A dream was born. I scrounged up recipes for homemade granola and nutty bran flakes (I’ll gush about these in a minute). And as if to emphasize that making homemade cereal was indeed my destiny, the folks at Oh! Nuts emailed to ask if I’d like to review some of their products. Uh, YES, NUT PEOPLE, YOU READ MY MIND. Pounds of nuts and dried fruits later, I was in the cereal-makin’ biz.

If you’re about to post a comment calling me a hippie for making my own bran flakes, hold it right there. This recipe is super easy, super cool, and super rewarding. You feel like a superhero (who makes their own cereal?! I MAKE MY OWN CEREAL! I AM CEREAL WOMAN!), you know exactly what healthy ingredients went into said cereal, and — this is the best part — you have bran flakes that don’t taste like a cardboard box. Every time I opened the jar they were stored in, I got a whiff of delicious nuttiness. They had texture! They had taste! Yes!

The granola is the flavor that really carries the cereal, though. I chose a Double Coconut Granola from Opera Girl Cooks that I’d heard a ton about. Once it cooled, it lived up to the hype — buttery, slightly sweet, coconutty, with a hint of salt to really amp it up.

My favorite bowl was a straight-up combination of all my options: bran flakes, double coconut granola, dried cherries, dried blueberries, cinnamon pecans, and toasted walnuts. If you have just 2 dried fruits and two nut options along with your flakes and granola, you’ll have 48 possible breakfast cereal varieties — that’s a lot of options!

The Oh! Nuts products were a success in terms of taste — the blueberries had a pronounced, wonderful blueberry flavor, and the cinnamon pecans were so addictive that I almost ate my stash before I got my cereal made! The sour cherries did have an odd, slightly fishy flavor (I know, weird), but I still enjoyed eating them. Maybe a flavor compound of the cherries came out that isn’t as pronounced when they’re not dried?

To be honest, including the price of shipping, I probably wouldn’t spend the extra money to buy regular nuts or fruit from Oh! Nuts, but would just head to the grocery store. That being said, for specialty items or rare nuts/fruits/candies, they’re the place to go. The selection is huge, and the products are high quality.

If you, like me, love a big ol’ bowl of hearty, nutty, earthy, crunchy, chewy, flavorful, delicious breakfast cereal — and one that can change with whatever mood you’re in — I hope you’ll make your own personal cereal buffet! Or perhaps fix a cereal buffet in pretty jars as a gift for a friend. Even better, have a breakfast party: set up a cereal buffet for family and friends where each person can make their own cereal combination, perhaps supplemented with juice and muffins on the side. Have fun!

Oh, by the way, I did have to branch out a little in homage to my original inspiration. How about some S’mores Cereal?

Below you’ll find the recipes for granola and nutty bran flakes. I even included nutritional info so you can make healthy breakfast choices! Round up some of your favorite add-ins and place all the components in separate jars for storage. Enjoy!

These flakes are SO MUCH BETTER than the stale boxed kind, you'll be amazed. The only downside is that this recipe uses two full baking sheets and only makes 3-4 bowls of cereal. If you have the stamina for an all-day baking project, I'd grab out all your baking sheets and make a day of it, doubling or tripling the recipe. They really are delicious!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and add milk and water. Stir to mix well. The resulting mixture will be a very wet “dough” (so wet, you can hardly call it a dough). Cut two sheets of parchment paper to fit two baking sheets, and set one sheet of parchment paper on the counter where you’ll be rolling — you won’t be able to transfer it without this!

Glop half of the “dough” out onto the sheet of parchment paper and flatten it by hand. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and “roll” it out (your rolling pin will almost just be smooshing it out into place) EXTREMELY THIN, almost transparent in some places. It will look like a giant bran flake — super fun!

Remove the plastic wrap and transfer the parchment carefully to a baking sheet. Cook for 10 minutes, but check often after just 5, because such a thin dough can easily burn. You’re looking for a thin, leathery cracker that is crunchy at the edges. When it’s done, remove it and allow it to cool completely. While it cools, repeat the process with the other half of the dough.

After both giant bran flakes have finished their first bake, reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees. Tear the first, cooled bran flake into regular bran flake-sized pieces (about 3/4 of an inch), spreading them out on the parchment-covered baking sheet.

Bake at the reduced temperature for 20 minutes, flipping and stirring the flakes around every 5 minutes. Repeat process with the second cooled, giant bran flake. Then allow all bran flakes to cool completely. Store well in a sealed container for up to two weeks.

3.2.2925

Now that I’ve shared my favorites with you, I’m anxious to know: What sort of breakfast cereal would you make for yourself? Piña colada cereal with toasted coconut and dried pineapple? Cherry crumble cereal with dried cherries and cinnamon granola? A luscious combo of dates, coconut, and chocolate chips?

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I used almond because I was out of vanilla)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

optional: I toasted another 1/2 cup of sweetened shredded coconut to add in for sweetness, but that was before I’d tasted the cooled batch. It’s probably unnecessary.

Instructions

Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine oats and shredded coconut in a large bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook honey, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt until just simmering.

Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture, stirring well with a wooden spoon until fully combined. Spread this mixture out over a large sheet pan, place in oven, and bake for 10 minutes before stirring the granola. Repeat 10 minute baking time, followed by stirring, until granola is well-toasted (takes about 4 cycles, or about 40 minutes).

Cool the granola on the baking sheet, stirring occasionally. When cooled, you can store granola in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or at room temperature for two.

205 Comments on 48 Homemade Breakfast Cereals

Oh! This is great! I just tried my hand at making my own granola yesterday…and boy, let me tell you, once you make your own you will never go back! Of course, you probably already knew that. Your blog is great, one of my favorites 🙂

Julie

Julie, you are so clever! I feel a similar sense of accomplishment when I make my own cereal (sadly I haven’t made my own for a few months) and breads too. And Smores cereal? Take that straight to the checkout, I’m sold! 😛

You are fabulous! I love this idea. How many times do I look at cereal boxes and think that I would get one kind if only it also had this in it… or what if this had a little less sugar and a little more bran and protein…

And I completely love that you made bran flakes, and I am going to make them. I think I would do the bran flakes and dried cherries… and I’m not sure what else yet. I’m kind of on a dried cherry kick.

I love your idea of custom cereal! How practical to have a cereal buffet when there are lots of people in your house and everybody likes something different. I just started making my own granola this summer, but have never made bran flakes. What a great idea!

Julie

Candice

August 12, 2010 at 3:05 am (9 years ago)

I’ve never seen your blog before and I arrived here via foodgawker.
I really enjoyed reading your post. I make my own granola but have never even considered making my own bran flakes.
After reading your post I will have to give it a try. It looks amazing!

Julie

This is amazing, Julie. I Love, Love, Love cereal and sometimes even have it for dinner. I can’t imagine why it never occurred to me before to make my own. Especially knowing exactly what I look for in a cereal (I’m an earthy, crunchy, fruity, nutty cereal girl as well! ;)). Not to mention, the prices of a box of cereal have sky-rocketed so this is definitely a good option to not only get what you want, but save money! Great post! And love you for including nutritional info! 😉

Julie

Just found your site via tweet from @steamykitchen- yeah! Love the idea of homemade cereal flakes. I am for sure going to try alkalize this recipe with spelt bran and almond milk. If you like homemade breakfast ideas you might like my last post with cinnamon quinoa. Thanx for the inspiration Julie. I’ll be back:)

Julie

What a wonderful idea, Julie, to make your own customizable cereals!!! I buy bran flakes all the time, but no more!! I’m gonna see if I can find some bran at the store so I can make those nutty bran flakes!

Is the bran that I’m looking for at the store basically just a type of flour?

I can’t wait to start making my own cereals! I’m so excited!!! Thanks so much again! Cheers! sheila

Thanks so much, Julie! I’ll get some on Monday and give it a go as soon as I finish up my pre-packaged granola and bran cereal. Once those are out of the way, I’ll be a do-it-yourself cereal gal like you! 🙂 Thanks again and have a great weekend! 🙂 sheila

Julie

Can’t say the thought of making my own cereal has ever crossed my mind, but this looks so do-able! Love the idea of customising your cereal and having such a variety to choose from. And the s’mores one looks super yummo.

Julie

I was just musing to myself during my morning drive that cereal is one of the few things that I love to eat that I have no idea how to make from scratch.
Then today I stumble across this wonderful post. This is definitely going into my to-be-cooked pile. Thanks!

Julie

YOU are a cereal superwoman! And dare I say, a granola genius?! Not only is it a good & fun idea, but it is super cute too! I was pondering my cereal choices and wishing it were possible to diy. And IT IS. Whoop!!

Julie

Hi Julie, I just wanted to let you know that I made some granola this morning and it turned out GREAT!!!! It’s truly the best granola I ever had!!
If you want to see how I made mine, here’s the link so you can check it out:

By the way, all last night I was literally dreaming all night long of making those bran flakes. I was going to make them this afternoon too but I ran out of time. I’ll definitely make them soon though! I’ll let ya know how they turn out. 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your weekend, sheila

Julie

hi Julie, I wanted to let you know I made a double batch of the bran flakes this morning, and it turned out great! I didn’t double the liquids, the baking powder or the sugar though, and the flakes still turned out wonderfully. I added some raisins to them when I was done and they really hit the spot. If you want to see my bran flakes, just click on the link below. 🙂 Thanks again! Cheers! sheilahttp://kemalandsheila.com/2010/09/homemade-nutty-bran-flakes-with-raisins/

jimvj

Well, it’d fall apart in the pasta extruder because it’s not your typical “dough” — like for scones or cookies. It’s more like a sort of compacted mush (ha!). Which, though it rules out the pasta extruder, actually makes it VERY VERY easy to roll. I’m not ever a fan of rolling either, but with this, you don’t actually even press down that hard — it’s more “spreading out the mush very thin” than it is ROLLING. I think that’s why the recipe has you start on the paper you’re going to bake it on, because you could never lift this thing. It’s not a cohesive dough-ball.

Julie R

March 12, 2015 at 6:50 am (5 years ago)

I’m making giant bran flakes right now! 🙂 I found your blog and recipe, and it didn’t matter that it was late at night, I had to give it a try. So far I’m through the second baking of my first giant flake, and I already know it tastes great. I made some substitutions, but I think I’m going to post that info to your Facebook page which I also found this evening. Thank you so much for posting this, your method worked wonderfully well! 🙂

Julie R

March 12, 2015 at 6:54 am (5 years ago)

Oh, I forgot to mention… since I doubled the recipe I only used half the “dough” this evening, and tomorrow I plan on adding cinnamon and extra natural sweetener in some of it. Also, since “Honey Buckwheats” was my favorite cereal as a child and it’s no longer made, I might brush some honey thinned with butter on a giant flake, too. 🙂

But as for the question “jimvj” had – I’m also going to try putting some of the dough through a potato ricer to see if I can get the shape to come out sort of like Fiber One cereal, as that’s what began my homemade cereal search to begin with… making my own “Faux Fiber One” without aspartame in it. 🙂 I’ll let you know how it comes out!

just came across your site because I googled “homemade breakfast cereal.” Besides granola, I’ve never made my own flakes, yet I hate all the packaging that comes along with b-fast cereals AND hate the prices. I’m going to try to adapt your recipe with oat flour, since I like oat flakes best. Wish me luck! look forward to browsing more of your site. thanks

Shannon

January 25, 2011 at 10:54 am (9 years ago)

My husband always thinks I’m a hippie too. I like to make all those things that the cereal companies make, since they add way too many chemicals and unnecessary things to theirs. For an example, I bought Fiber One the other day, only to discover that it was sweetened with Sucralose. This is the only one in their line of products, sold at my local store, that isn’t sugar sweetened. Already made up my mind that I am not eating Sucralose (what started out as a pesticide recipe) on a regular basis. So….go you hippies! Home-made cereal is awesome!

Hi! This is so wonderful! I’ve been inspired to start making cereal for my kids after watching “Food, Inc” and really having my mind taken for a ride! I just can’t feed my kids food with all those “extras” anymore. Nearly every cereal I saw today at the store listed “sugar” as the SECOND ingredient!! Yuck! I can handle the 2 TBSP your bran flake recipe called for. That’s awesome!

We have a child with nut allergies though… so… do you have any idea if I could substitute regular flour for the nut flour and still come up with the right end? I would love to know! Thanks!! 🙂

RC

March 26, 2011 at 8:52 am (8 years ago)

My mouth is watering just looking at the pictures. It looks amazing! I’m definitely going to try these recipes. My husband is undergoing testing for a heart condition and with all the additives that are in foods these days it makes you wonder if all this crap we are eating is really good for you. Also the fact that it is hard enough already to find food and other products we can have in our home because of the ammonia/ammonium allergy in household. You’d be surprised what you’re eating if you just take the time to read all the labels.

Lorrina Klaszus

Valerie

May 15, 2011 at 4:44 pm (8 years ago)

Wow! I’m so glad I found your blog! I’ve been looking for a recipe to make bran flakes for ages! We have many different food allergies and diet restrictions at our house and I have been looking for a way to customize things without spending a ton. I am dying to alter your recipes to make them gluten free. My kids will love having more variety to our cereal options! Thank you!!

Kali

May 18, 2011 at 9:32 am (8 years ago)

Thanks for shedding light on the simplicity of making cereal! I’m the mom standing in the cereal isle for half an hour looking for a box of cereal that isn’t full of preservatives and ingredients that I can’t pronounce! I’m a working mom so cereal is usually the breakfast of choice! Now I can have peace of mind knowing exactly what I’m giving my kids! Thank you again : o )

Sarah

June 30, 2011 at 9:49 pm (8 years ago)

I can’t wait to try the bran flakes! I make granola all the time to add to my oatmeal. 🙂

As for the cherries, do they have canola oil on them? I know raisins often have a bit of oil added (I’m assuming it keeps them from sticking together). I find that canola oil has a bit of an unpleasant, fishy taste sometimes.

This is fantastic! I love cereal but it’s so expensive so have been looking up ways to make my own. I have one question though, how long will the bran and granola be good for? I’d like to make as large of a batch as I can and store it.
Thanks for sharing this 🙂

Thank you so much for this recipe!!! We gave up packaged/processed foods a year ago, and enjoy much better health but miss cereal. I’ve been getting used to making so much from scratch, but hadn’t tried cereal until lately. My first couple recipes weren’t a big hit, but this one is LOVED by my whole family. Even my husband, the pickiest of the lot, says he’s in heaven because he can feel like he’s eating Wheaties again. Thank you!

Wow, this is what I love about blogs! I am so happy I’ve found your blog — my hubby is an extremely zealous cereal lover and eater of all kinds of cereal and in search for more and more!! I’m going to surprise him with your recipe! Thank you!

Holly

September 22, 2011 at 4:40 am (8 years ago)

Thank you soooo much! I thought I was the only one crazy enough to want to make cereal at home. I’ve been making granola for years but I’ve never been able to find a recipe for good old regular flake cereal. Love it! I’d still love to find a recipe for some “golden graham”-ish cereal for those unhealthy cravings. Maybe I could make a similar goop with graham crumbs and then I could make s’mores cereal!

REALLY love this project of making homemade cereals! Where are there more?
I personally favor the granola, though I have honestly taken to eating granolas strictly for dessert. Regarding this coconut granola, which does sound great, I would recommend using raw, unpasteurized honey, for added minerals/nutrients, and a low glycemic index, which makes a difference if you use if for snacking!
thanks!

Milly B

Anyone known any Gluten free flake type cereal recipes.
I love Arrow Head Mills Organic Maple Buckwheat flakes, BUT not the $4.99 a box. I’m trying to make them myself with Buckwheat flour as a replacement four the other flours and or oats in some recipes that I’ve found here and on line. I would appreciate any help.
Neil

I’m trying a gluten-free version of these just now! You can purchase certified gluten-free oat bran from Bob’s Red Mill, or use quinoa flakes in place of the oat bran here. A heavy gluten-free flour blend (brown rice & sorghum or buckwheat flour) would likely sub well for the whole wheat flour.

Polly Golliher

November 4, 2011 at 7:58 pm (8 years ago)

Thank you so much For pursuing this dream and for posting it. I have been hunting for good cereal recipes for gluten free people like myself, this has given me the basics to make magic. So thanks again. I am using the basics of your bran flakes without the bran o wheat and making a vanilla coconut almond flake. Made with desiccated coconut instead of bran, and corn meal instead of whole wheat flour. Adding 1 tbls vanilla to the milk. What comes out is a beautiful cereal.

Kiirsti

February 9, 2012 at 4:11 am (8 years ago)

I feel like store-bought cereal is such a scam! So much money for such a small amount! Thank you thank you thank you for posting this! I can’t wait to try this recipe! Also going to try it with almond milk instead of dairy and see how that works out 🙂

I agree! You can make bunches with a sack of bran and almond meal, etc., with this recipe! You may want to multiply the recipe, though, because each batch only makes about 4 bowlfuls. I think it’ll work great with almond milk! Hope you love it 🙂

Just made both of these recipes and am excited about the success. Next time I’ll definitely double the bran since it didn’t make that much. I only did the first cooking part in the oven and then finished it in my dehydrator.

My granola almost burnt after 30 minutes, luckily I caught it at “just before burnt.” But I love coconut and this is a perfect topping for yogurt or cereal.
Thanks for these ideas! (I found you on Pinterest!!)

Cherie

March 15, 2012 at 2:33 am (8 years ago)

What a fabulous idea! I have been making my own granola for years primarily for my husband. My boys were never great fans for it especially after the first few months. I do think having a variety of yummies at hand for them to choose from would definitely help. I love the bran flakes idea. Would anyone have any suggestions in how to make this gluten free or a recommendation of a substitute for wheat? I am trying to stay away from white flour. I’m not crazy about corn flour. I appreciate any advice! Thanks again for the great website!

Wow! Thanks so much for the bran flakes recipe. I love it and it was so easy. I made yogurt raisin bran with it and I did a piña colada granola from the granola recipe I use adding piña colada flavoring. So good. Thanks a ton

Tresa

April 29, 2012 at 3:30 pm (7 years ago)

Yum. Enjoyed the article about homemade breakfast cereals. I just wanted to ask whether you have a list of the add-ins such as fruits and nuts etc that you combine to make the different cereal varities. Need some ideas.

Tristan

June 17, 2012 at 3:07 am (7 years ago)

So excited to try these! I’m particularly dying to try using peanut flour, or PB2 in the brand flakes for a peanut buttery fix! I can also make an approximation of Honey Bunches of Oats, which are my hubbies favorite! Okay well I think I’ve sufficiently overdone the exclamation marks. I Pinned you 🙂 Thanks for this great post! (Last one, I promise)

Beth

June 26, 2012 at 2:36 am (7 years ago)

So so want to make the Bran flakes both for me and for my kids but when I went to the store I could not find Bran or Almond flour. did some research on Bran on the net and found that there is oat Bran and wheat Bran but your recipe calls for Bran so what one do I need? and where can I buy it? Thanks

Beth

Sure thing! And might I also recommend multiplying the recipe? So many people have said they loved it but it doesn’t make too much (especially when not combining it with granola or other goodies) — maybe 3 bowlfuls. I find it cathartic to get out a bunch of baking sheets, though, and make a huge batch 🙂

Lisa B

July 2, 2012 at 12:56 pm (7 years ago)

I am a mom of a large family and breakfast cearal is a luxary for us. I do make my own granola (among many other things) but bran flakes isn’t something I’ve done. Im so excited to try it. I’m going to put dried fruit and nuts in separate containers and set up a cearel buffett in the mornings.
Everyone can “build” their own cearel!!!!!

you are a genius!!! I am so going to make it right now. I was thinking about making my own as my daughter is out of her cereal and I just don’t want to go to the store for one box of cereal. She has to have it, though, as she is in her life faze where yogurt and cereal are for breakfast, lunch, after lunch snack, before dinner snack, dinner, and before bed snack…
I’ve been already making my own yogurt and now it’s time for cereal!!! yeay!!!

Ashley

Yep! Spread them back out on the pan and keep toasting until they crisp up — make sure they’re not overlapping on the pan. Then let them cool completely without piling them (so they don’t steam each other). That should help!

Hi Tobey! Are you sure you used parchment paper and not wax paper? Sorry if that seems like a silly question, but some people get them confused (I’ve been known to use the wrong one accidentally on occasion.)

Tobey

September 21, 2012 at 6:27 pm (7 years ago)

I did grab the wax paper instead of the parchment paper….oops!
That’s what I get for being in a hurry! The ones I were able to get off the wax paper were delicious though!! Next time I will remember to slow down! 🙂 Thanks!

Thanks so much for the bran flakes recipe! I tried it for the first time 2 weeks ago, and my family loves them so much, I’ve made them 4 times! We’ve been easing into eating less and less processed foods, and I was really afraid to have unprocessed breakfasts, because I love cereal so much, but these are great. This is the first recipe of yours I’ve tried, and I can’t wait to try some more.

This looks so wonderful. I can’t wait to try it! As for Smores cereal, did you know you can make your own marshmallows? I’m sure you could cut them smaller to make them more cereal friendly too. I haven’t tried them yet but I have read that you will never eat store bought marshmallows again. 😉 Just look up homemade marshmallows on the web, I’m sure you will find them.

Dhara

February 23, 2013 at 3:39 pm (7 years ago)

Hey Julie, i made both the bran flakes and granola. They turned out oh so yummy and satisfying. Just like you, one morning while eating my cereal I had the idea of making my own cereal. The search got me to your website and I am glad I tried yours. I am not going back to store bought cereal. Thank you so much.

Hello,
I just got on to your web site can’t wait to try the recipes but you said that there are
48 Homemade Breakfast Cereals recipes can you tell me where they are? I look at the web site and I didn’t see the 40 something recipes
Carol

As I mentioned in the post: “If you have just 2 dried fruits and two nut options along with your flakes and granola, you’ll have 48 possible breakfast cereal varieties — that’s a lot of options!” The 2 recipes here are for the granola and bran flakes. If you pick up a couple of your favorite add-ins (nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruits, fresh fruits, etc.), that’s how you can combine them differently to make dozens of varieties.

Jennifer

April 29, 2013 at 6:26 pm (6 years ago)

So I might have missed something, how do you make Smores cereal? Great post! Way back over 10 years ago when I first got married, I lived 30 minutes from the nearest store. I was a new stay-at-home housewife and I wanted to make EVERYTHING from scratch. I tried making cereal, and after a couple of failed batches I quit. Now it seems like there are more and more homemade cereal recipes circulating. I thank you for going through the time and effort to perfect some good recipes. Thank you!! Maybe now I can finally get some good cereal.

Jeff

May 14, 2013 at 1:56 pm (6 years ago)

I think your nutrition information is off for the granola. If that recipe makes 3 cups and a serving is 1/2 cup, there are 6 servings. With a teaspoon of kosher salt in there, there are at least 400mg of sodium per serving, not 122 as stated. Some of us are on restricted sodium diets and keeping the sodium content accurate is crucial. Other than that this sounds really good!

Julianne Legge

June 27, 2013 at 4:56 am (6 years ago)

I am a fledgling cottage foods baker in California. I want to control the ingredients I use, so I went looking for a recipe for bean cereal that I can use in my other concoctions. I found THIS. No corn syrup, yay! Will try ASAP. Great ideas, Julie, and great writing. Subscribing! Many thanks —

Julianne Legge

Felicia Wilson

July 16, 2013 at 2:57 pm (6 years ago)

I know I’m a little late jumping on this comment thread but . . . Thank you! Thank you! I got up this morning and decided to give my kids cereal for breakfast. Read through the ingredients of the three store-bought cereals my husband brought home. Two had corn syrup and the third had BHT in the packaging. I had to pick what I felt was the least chemicaled and the lesser of three evils. I thought “There’s got to be a better choice than this.” So I went online and lo and behold, I found this blog post. Thank you again!

I happened upon your post after I’d already come across the Bran Flakes recipe from Mr. Breakfast, but it did prompt a question:

Do you think the Bran Flakes would stay fresh longer if they were kept in the fridge after they cooled? I’m interested in trying the recipe (I’d like to make a big bunch of it, in fact), but I don’t like the idea of doing all that work and then only getting 2 weeks of mileage out of it. I guess it’s the nuts in the recipe, especially, that would go rancid in the pantry after they’d been toasted. Any thoughts?

Honestly, I’m not sure — that might affect the texture. You can certainly give it a try (maybe even freezing the flakes?) This recipe as is is probably about 1 week’s worth (with granola, etc. to supplement). If you try it, let me know.

Fatima

Julie Ruble

January 16, 2014 at 1:10 am (6 years ago)

Thanks, Fatima! With this mixture, that wouldn’t work. It doesn’t form a dough as much as it forms kind of a loose mush that you roll into a flat layer. You couldn’t transfer it to a crepe maker or anything. The first bake is really dehydrating it to a layer that you can then bake and crisp, and perhaps for that step you could try another cooking method, but at that point the oven also seems easiest!

Joan

March 23, 2014 at 2:32 pm (5 years ago)

Hi Julie; well I have never commented on a site before but there is always a first time – just like making your own bran cereal! I love a little crunch with my fruit and hate what they put in cereals so decided to give this a try. Thank you so, so much. Because I have cut out almost all wheat from my diet, I substituted with spelt bran, almond and brown rice flour and 1/3 cup of ground sunflower seeds and ground cashews combined. It worked! I would like to know what you think of using coconut flour instead. Do you think it would absorb the milk and water too much and make it pasty? Thank you once again. I am thrilled!

Julie Ruble

March 23, 2014 at 9:06 pm (5 years ago)

Hooray! I’m so glad to hear that it worked, Joan! I wish I knew an answer to your coconut flour question, but I’m not sure. I’m betting there’s some combo of coconut flour and ground nuts that would give you a great texture! If you try, please let me know!

Joan

April 1, 2014 at 1:48 pm (5 years ago)

Thanks Julie, my second attempt was using a mixture of unsweetened coconut, brown rice flour, rye flakes and plain flour to make up the one cup of dry ingredients and then added the remainder of your recipe. I also took a suggestion from another reader and put in 2 TB of maple syrup instead of the sugar plus 1 tsp of vanilla in the milk. The flakes turned out wonderful and it just goes to show you there are endless possibilities to this recipe. No more store bought cereal for me! Thank you so, so much. I am so glad I found this site. And once you know what you are doing, it is so easy. Next time I will try it with the coconut flour and let you know.

Ryan Dunne

April 5, 2014 at 8:08 pm (5 years ago)

Oh my gosh, I love your bran flakes cereal recipe! I admit I changed it some to fit what I have on hand and I substituted Corn meal, Spelt and Buckwheat flour for the bran and added cooked whole millet and it is soooo tasty!

Turns out my rolling pin was to big to flatten out the batter on my cookie sheet so it took like an extra hour to cook but it eventually turned out crunchy and delish! Thanks for the base recipe!

Julie Ruble

November 5, 2014 at 10:57 am (5 years ago)

Hi C, the idea is that using the recipes and tips here, you could combine ingredients to make 48 different breakfast cereals. It was a fun way of explaining the customizability of the bran flakes, granola, dried fruit, nuts, and other mix-ins.

Marjorie Wiebe

Julie Ruble

Kelly

February 27, 2016 at 1:08 pm (4 years ago)

I love both these recipes. Thanks so much for sharing! I just wanted to add a couple comments that make things a bit easier — I use silpat mats in my baking sheets, then instead of using any parchment paper, you can just glop the dough right onto the silpat in the baking sheet, flatten it out slightly, cover with plastic wrap and finish rolling it out with a small “pizza dough roller”, while still in the pan. Then peel off the plastic wrap and stick it in the oven. I also didn’t find any need to stir the flakes during the second baking, if using convection. Also, for the granola, I had to reduce the salt to 3/4 tsp or it was too salty. Again, cooking on convection, I only had to stir through it once during baking instead of every 10 minutes. Hope this helps somebody!

[…] Secret Garden surprise party for my sister, for which I made this gorgeous lemonade. I blogged and blogged and blogged. I wrote the syllabus for the new cooking classes I’m teaching this fall. I […]

[…] Good complained that it didn’t have any ‘flakes’. Finally I found a recipe for home made bran flakes (which has also taken me a couple of goes to get right). This combined with a coconut granola and […]

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